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Bedbugs are spreading across Vancouver. And the city's chief medical health officer is blaming promiscuity for the itchy problem.
"People occasionally go to the Downtown Eastside and do naughty things," said Dr. John Blatherwick.
Now the infestations are spreading from Vancouver's troubled neighbourhood to the city's residential areas.
"People take them back to their spouses and their spouses wonder where they got their bedbugs from," said Blatherwick.
He also said the bugs don't carry harmful diseases but their bites are uncomfortable. They produce itchy, welt-like bumps.
The doctor said bedbugs are commonly found in hotels in the Downtown Eastside. Now they are becoming more common in homes and apartment buildings, and that concerns Liberal MLA Lorne Mayencourt.
"In the West End, we have had a number of buildings that have become infested with bedbugs," said Mayencourt.
The MLA stresses it's important to treat the entire building, not just the affected suite.
Both Blatherwick and Mayencourt say educating the public on the symptoms of bedbugs and how to get rid of them will go a long way toward stopping the spread.
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